AM Best Removes From Under Review With Negative Implications and Affirms Credit Ratings of GuideOne Insurance Companies’ Members

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” (Excellent) of GuideOne Insurance Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, collectively referred to as GuideOne Insurance Companies (GuideOne). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is negative. All companies are domiciled in West Des Moines, IA. See below for a detailed listing of all companies and ratings.

The ratings reflect GuideOne’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

These rating actions follow a strategic capital investment of $200 million made by Bain Capital Insurance (Bain), which closed on Dec. 29, 2023. The Mutual Group (TMG) was created by Bain’s acquisition of GuideOne Insurance Company's operational platform. TMG will act as a full-service insurance operations service provider for small to mid-sized mutual insurance operations, with GuideOne being the first client for the new enterprise. The investment puts GuideOne in a much stronger capital position following significant surplus deterioration in 2022, driven by a net loss along with unrealized capital losses, as well as some deterioration through third quarter 2023 due to continued underwriting losses and other losses.

The negative outlooks reflect the continued pressure on GuideOne’s balance sheet strength assessment as unprofitable underwriting performance related to the specialty business has negatively impacted its capital levels in recent years. AM Best recognizes the significant actions the company has recently taken, including the exit of the specialty business, to improve its capital position and underwriting results.

The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a-” (Excellent) have been removed from under review with negative implications with a negative outlook assigned for the subsidiaries of GuideOne Insurance Company:

• GuideOne Specialty Insurance Company
• GuideOne America Insurance Company
• GuideOne Elite Insurance Company
• GuideOne National Insurance Company
• GuideOne Property & Casualty Insurance Company

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2024 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.